


Re-Danganronpa: Bound By Hope

by YourLadyStar



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Because of Reasons, Canon Rewrite, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Dialogue Heavy, Execution, Explicit Language, Foreshadowing, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Graphic Description, Implied Relationships, M/M, Mentions of Sayaka, One-Sided Attraction, Past Character Death, mentions of Leon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-02-27 08:32:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18735403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourLadyStar/pseuds/YourLadyStar
Summary: Kodaka once said that had Mondo and Taka survived the events of the killing game, they likely would have ended up together. And being the filthy shipper I am, I'm prepared to bring that vision to life!





	1. Trial 2 Investigation

**Author's Note:**

> So I've gotten into Danganronpa within the last few months and I've been rolling in Ishimondo like a dog on grass. And I'm tired of seeing fics where only Taka survived and is forced to live with the pain of losing Mondo. Nah, in my world, these two gonna survive this mess together through thick and thin.  
> Most of the events of the original game will be retained with slight changes to accommodate the two new survivors, but chapter 2 is easily the chapter I had to change the most of, hence why this took a while for me to finish.  
> Hope you all enjoy how hard I had to work for this investigation!

Makoto wouldn't be surprised to learn that everything that was happening around him was nothing more than a long horrifying nightmare. In fact, right now, he'd greatly welcome such a revelation. He'd been gifted with a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend the most prestigious school in the country only to end up being forced to participate in a game where the only means of escape was to get away with murder. He didn't want to believe that any of the other students he was trapped with would actually go so far to kill someone, he knew he himself would never stoop to such a level, but the events that transpired not even a week ago proved him wrong. Sayaka, Junko, Leon- they were now gone. One became a victim, one convicted of murder, and one for defying the rules. Regardless, they all had one thing in common: they were all terrified and desperately fighting to survive. Makoto couldn't bring himself to blame them for their actions, he knew that if he were to be pushed to the brink, he likely would have fought back as they did. Makoto hoped that after their first trial, no one would want to try anything and focus on finding a different means of escape.

But that hope was dashed when Monokuma showed up in his room to wake him and revealed that something horrible had happened to one of his friends. His mind had been racing ever since he was given that chilling announcement. He knew his other classmates have been on edge after Monokuma announced the next motive to be the reveal of their deepest darkest secrets. He didn't want to believe that someone here truly had a secret so intense that they would kill someone just to protect it. He wanted nothing more for this to be just a joke. For this to be a manipulative tactic on Monokuma's part to make them paranoid and push them to murder.

There was no sign of anything occurring on the first floor, and the others have already decided to move up to the recently opened second floor, so he headed up as well, wanting to put an end to this uneasy mystery they were plunged in, ready to reveal that this was nothing more than a lie.

He barely took a single step away from the stairs when his ears were assaulted by a loud piercing scream, one that nearly made him jump out of his skin. _'That scream- that was Taka!'_   Following the sound, he glanced to his left, to the door leading to the pool, _'It sounded like it came from there!'_ He wasted no time sprinting towards the door, feeling his heart thudding against his ribcage. Each step felt heavy and oppressing like he was walking directly into a deadly trap and his whole body was screaming at him to turn around. But his heart edged him forward, wanting to know what the source of the scream was and praying it wasn't from what he dreaded it to be. Taking a deep breath, he threw open the doors.

He froze, time around him seemed to come to a screeching halt. His eyes instantly locked onto the small sad form that lied lifelessly on the floor. In front of the door to the boys locker room, surrounded in a pool of her own blood and laying on her side, was Chihiro Fujisaki.

It took him a few seconds to accept that what he was seeing was real, but as soon as his mind registered this scene as fact, he couldn't stop the scream that escaped from his mouth as he fell backward, his eyes unable to look away from her body. He wasn't even given a moment to process it before a loud chime echoed throughout the room. The monitor in the room turned on and Monokuma appeared on the screen.

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

He was gone just as quickly as he showed up. Makoto felt his brain wrapped in layer upon layer of confusion from everything that happened within the last minute.

"T-The body discovery announcement..."

Makoto managed to draw his focus away from Chihiro's body to take in his surroundings, noticing that Mondo and Kiyotaka were in the room, both boys held the same look of frightened terror as he did.

"W-What do you mean? What the hell was that?!"

"Yeah, forgot you were knocked out the first time," Mondo spoke, not taking his eyes off Chihiro, "When three or more people find a body, that damn announcement plays."

"S-S-So, t-then it's true?" Kiyotaka's voice trembled, his large red eyes watering, "I-I have to tell the others!" He quickly turned on his heel and ran out of the room.

Makoto slowly stood up, looking over to Mondo. He could see the rising flames of rage in his lavender eyes. A deep growl erupted from his throat, **"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!"** In the blink of an eye, he punched the wall next to him, enough force behind it to leave a noticeable dent and cracks and cause his knuckles to bleed. Makoto wanted to say something to calm him down, but he knew anything he could say would only fan the flames. Instead, he looked back to Chihiro, taking a tentative step towards her. He could feel the corners of his eyes well up, threatening to let the tears fall.

_'Why? Why would anyone do this to Chihiro? She was so sweet, so innocent; she wanted nothing more than to help and never said or did anything to make someone despise her. So... why?'_

He stood just out of reach of the puddle of blood, silently contemplating who could have done something so twisted. Within a few minutes, everyone had gathered in the room.

"Damn," Sakura growled, the air around her turning tense, "I couldn't protect her."

"It's really happening again..." Kiyotaka spoke, his eyes watering profusely.

"N-No... Chihiro..." Aoi whimpered out.

"This must be a dream! I'm just dreaming! None of this is real! In fact, I haven't even been born yet! All of this is just a figment of my imagination!" Hifumi screamed in shrill panic.

"Shut up," Celeste said coldly, turning to examine the scene, "So, we're once more in the same predicament."

"Of course," Byakuya said, smiling smugly, "It seems as though someone has finally decided to take action. Now, this life-or-death game can continue. About time, too. I was starting to get bored."

"You're fuckin' bored?" Mondo's voice was deep and laced with fury as he grabbed Byakuya by the collar of his white shirt, his free bloody fist clenching, "Chihiro's fucking dead and your smart ass is complaining about being **fucking bored?!** Quit acting like this shit is no big fuckin' deal!"

"Bro, wait!" Kiyotaka ran up and grabbed Mondo's arm.

"I understand that you're angry, but now is not the time for this," Kyoko's straightforward tone cut through the growing tension like a knife, "The only thing we need to concern ourselves with right now is finding the one responsible for this. Rather than wasting your anger on him, use it instead to reveal the truth." Her words seemed to get through to him as he reluctantly let go. Byakuya only frowned at him, straightening out the creases now left on his clothing.

"So... it actually happened..." Makoto spoke, "Someone really killed her... for the sake of protecting their secret."

"That's the only reasoning I can think of right now," Kyoko spoke, already seeming to be piecing together the events in her head, "And it would make sense why they would choose Chihiro. They likely wanted a quick and easy target, to avoid any chance of failing and being revealed for their actions."

Makoto didn't want to believe that someone would really go so far just to keep a secret, to purposely plan to take an innocent life, but he found his voice unwilling to express those doubts.

"W-W-What's going o-on?" The group turned around and looked at the entrance as Toko entered the room. Her eyes took a quick glance at Chihiro before she shrieked and turned away, "W-Wha-! I-Is it happening a-again?!"

"It is," Celeste spoke without an ounce of hesitation, "Chihiro has been killed."

"So, we really gotta do this again?" Yasuhiro spoke, "Search for clues and have a trial and stuff?"

"Either that or we surrender and let the killer walk out free as we all die," Byakuya responded coldly, "If you'd like to choose the latter option, be my guest."

"There's no way we can just give up!" Makoto spoke up, finding strength in his voice again, "Someone murdered Chihiro, and in such a horrible way- No way are we letting someone like that get away with it! If they were willing to kill her, then all of us might be in serious danger too!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," A cheerful voice interrupted as Monokuma suddenly appeared in the room.

"Wha-"

"You know, some people say that despair brings nothing but problems, that it can't achieve anything worthwhile. But look at you all! The despair of losing your precious little Chihiro is bringing you all together, determined and ready to fight for the truth! Isn't this just despair worth dying for?"

"Don't twist this shit to make it seem like a good thing!" Mondo yelled, Kiyotaka's grip on his arm being the only thing keeping him from attacking the bear.

"Guess the feeling of camaraderie hasn't sunken in yet. Oh well. What can you do?"

"Don't just change the subject!" Aoi said, "What were you talking about before, how we didn't have to worry?"

"Oh right. You don't need to concern yourself over our killer going on a killing spree. A blackened can only murder a maximum of two people."

"I don't remember that rule," Hifumi said.

"That's because I just made it up," The sound of multiple pings indicated that each of their e-Handbooks had been updated to include this new rule, "If I didn't have this established, any one of you could easily murder your entire class and walk free in no time. It'd be boring to have your school life be brought to such an abrupt end so soon."

"Regardless, you didn't come here just to wax poetic at us. I imagine that there's something you wish to give us."

"Always straight to the point, aren't ya, Kyoko? Well, then I best not keep you waiting!" Out of nowhere, Monokuma pulled out and handed each of them a black file they instantly recognized, "Presenting the Monokuma File! All updated for our new murder! The trial shall begin soon, so be sure to search very thoroughly. You mess up and it's your life!" With that, he was gone just as quickly as he appeared.

_'It really is happening again. Once more, we have to investigate and determine which of us is a murderer. I wish we didn't have to do any of this, but... our lives are on the line. We don't really have much of a choice.'_

"We'd best get started right away," Kyoko spoke up, already taking the leadership role once more, "Sakura, Mondo, I suppose you two won't mind guarding the crime scene once more?"

The martial artist shook her head, "Not at all."

"No way in hell am I lettin' anyone fuck this up!"

"Then it's decided."

Makoto, Kyoko, Sakura, Mondo, and Kiyotaka stayed in the room as the others left to begin the investigation. Makoto managed to stuff his sorrow and grief down, summoning forth the courage he needed to get started. _'First things first, I need to check the Monokuma File.'_ He opened the file and started reading:

**"The victim is Chihiro Fujisaki. The body was found in front of the door to the boys locker room, on the second floor of the school. The cause of death was multiple stab wounds throughout the torso, causing severe laceration and bleeding. The time of death was 12:40 am."**

_'Another murder late at night. Might be difficult to pinpoint an alibi for everyone. And the cause of death was stabbing, but...'_ He swallowed down his fear and walked over to Chihiro's lifeless body. Examining it real quick, he noticed something. _'But I don't see any weapon near her. Could the killer have hidden it to dispose of evidence?'_

Kyoko kneeled down, not minding that she was standing in blood, and began examining the wounds that littered Chihiro's chest. Makoto could count about 8 stab wounds, one of which seemed to pierce from her front to her back. He felt his stomach rile at the sight. Chihiro's eyes were closed, but there was a look of looming terror and pain etched onto her face. He didn't think he could ever forgive the person responsible for this.

"Hmm. Interesting."

"Huh? What is it, Kyoko?" Kiyotaka asked.

"Comparing Chihiro's wounds to Sayaka's, it seems unlikely that a knife was used to kill her. The wounds are much smaller and thinner, something that should not be possible if a knife was used, especially since the wounds seem rather deep. And then there's this," She gently and carefully turned over Chihiro's body to lay her on her back, "Even though all her wounds are deep stabs, it doesn't explain this." Makoto kneeled down next to her, doing his best to avoid touching the blood more than necessary, and looked at where she was pointing. On Chihiro's upper right arm, there was a small tear on the sleeve and a short thin cut was visible beneath.

"This is weird," Makoto mused, "Why is there a cut here of all places?"

"I can't say why at the moment. I'll have to examine more to be sure. You're free to help me if you wish."

"A-Ah, it's OK. You seem to know what you're doing. Besides, I gotta look around for clues."

Kyoko smirked as he stood up before going back to examining Chihiro's body. The strange girl was wrapped in several veils of mystery, one that Makoto hasn't come remotely close to unwrapping. In any other situation, he would most likely distance himself away from her. But in such a dire situation like this, she has been nothing but a valuable and trustworthy ally. He likely would be dead right now if not for her.

Focusing back on the task, he saw Kiyotaka pick up an e-Handbook off the ground, "Is that Chihiro's?"

"It is," He confirmed after turning it on.

Makoto noticed how carefully he was holding the e-Handbook and saw the splash of blood on one side of the back, "How did the blood end up on it? It doesn't look like it simply fell into the blood."

"I didn't think so either. But I did make an interesting discovery! Take a look!" He showed him the e-Handbook, the blood stain laid bare, and he noticed the break in the stain that seemed to resemble the shape of fingers, "You see it too? How it resembles the shape of a hand? I assert that Chihiro must have been holding her e-Handbook when she was attacked and dropped it!"

_'That does make sense. The killer must have snuck up behind her and attacked her before she even noticed.'_

During his thinking, he caught sight of something. He looked back at it and saw a duffel bag and what seemed to be a blue tracksuit on the floor near Mondo. "Whose is that?"

"Musta been Chihiro's. We found it in the hall."

"Huh? In the hallway?"

"It was in the hall leading up to here. When we found it, we figured some weird shit was going down here."

 _'But, that's really strange. Why would a bag that belonged to Chihiro be outside in the hall and not with her? The killer removed the murder weapon from the scene, but why would they leave the bag behind?'_ He looked back to Kyoko, who was still studying Chihiro's body with a look of intrigue, _'Chihiro must have come here to work out and was attacked before she could start. But, if that's the case, why is she in front of the boys locker room? Shouldn't she be in front of the girls? There's not even a drop of blood over there.'_ He looked to the door of the boys locker room, _'Could some clue to the killer be in there?'_

He entered the locker room, noting that the door was unlocked, most likely for the investigation, and looked around, searching for even the smallest thing that seemed off. At first, it seemed like the room was left completely untouched, but that's when his eyes locked onto the one thing that was different than what he remembered: the punching bag had blood on it. There were small splats of blood on one side that seemed to take the shape of several small ovals.  _'How did these get here?'_

He couldn't think of any reason for this to be here, but he knew someone who might. He left the locker room and walked up to Sakura, who was maintaining a diligent watch over the crime scene, "Sakura, can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"I found some blood on the punching bag in the boys locker room. Do you know if any of the guys went in there yesterday?"

She shook her head, "Hina and I were training together until roughly midnight, and I don't recall hearing the other door open."

"So no one went in there. But how did that blood get there?"

"I can't say for certain. It might be best to ask the other guys if they went into the locker room yesterday and used the punching bag."

"I'll try." _'Still, I don't remember seeing any of the guys other than Mondo here yesterday, and I don't see any injuries on him that could suggest that blood is his.'_

"The only other notable thing I can report is that I saw Toko standing outside the library when we left. My guess is that she was waiting for Byakuya to leave."

"I see. Thanks." _'It's not that strange for her to be there if Byakuya was there as well. Was he really in the library that late?'_

"Hmm... I see." Kyoko's voice interrupted the silence.

"What is it, Kyoko?" Kiyotaka asked.

"Take a look at this," She waited for Makoto, Mondo, and Kiyotaka to kneel down around Chihiro as she held the programmer's hands in one of hers, "At first, I thought the blood on them was a result of her other injuries, but I see I was wrong," She used her thumb to wipe off the blood. revealing the back of Chihiro's hands to be red, swollen and covered in scrapes.

"Her hands are injured too!"

"But how did these even get here?" Kiyotaka asked.

"I'll need to investigate this more as well to be certain, but I can already tell these couldn't have come from whatever weapon was used to kill her. There would be no point to it anyway."

Mondo groaned in frustration, "This shit is way too confusing. The hell happened to this dude?"

"Hopefully we can find that out," Makoto stood back up and left the room, deciding it would be best to find out if any of the guys came to the locker room. Asking each of them would take too long and it could run the risk of him inducing panic that would keep them from telling him the truth, so he decided that it would be easier and faster if he just looked at their hands and see if any of them had any injuries. Mondo and Kiyotaka were already ruled out, so that just left Yasuhiro, Hifumi, and Byakuya.

Just as he was about to head out, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. On the left wall leading to the pool room were small barely visible specks of blood.  _'Blood here too?! What is going on?!'_

Deciding it was best to save this for later, Makoto went to look for the other guys. Before finding any of the guys, he found Celeste standing outside the warehouse looking deep in thought.

"Celeste, did you find something?"

"Ah, Makoto. No, I was merely checking to see if Chihiro's duffel was brought back here. I noticed the murder weapon was not at the scene, so I wanted to see if the rest of the evidence had been disposed of."

"No, Mondo and Taka found it in the h-" He stopped himself once he realized what she said, "Wait, you know about Chihiro's duffel bag?!"

She nodded, "Since you seem to be working rather hard, I'll tell you this; I ran into Chihiro in the warehouse last night, just before Monokuma called us to the gym. She was stuffing a track jacket into a duffel bag. When I asked her what she was planning to do, she said it was something important and she needed to hurry."

"That does match up with everything we've found so far, though there are still some things that are unclear. Thanks, Celeste."

She gave her usual laugh, "Good luck on your search, Makoto."

He continued his search and soon found both Hifumi and Yasuhiro on the first floor, neither of them had any injuries on their hands. When he ran into Yasuhiro, the clairvoyant stopped him.

"Yo, Makoto, I found something kinda weird. Figured I should tell you."

"What is it?"

"See, you remember that mailbox next to the hatch? Found out yesterday that it had Sayaka, Junko and Leon's e-Handbooks. I went to check it a while ago, but Leon's wasn't there."

"It wasn't?"

"Nah. I looked around most of this floor and I can't find it. No one's seen it either. I'll keep looking in case I do."

"Alright. Tell me if you find."

"You got it," With a wave, he left.

_'This is definitely weird. Why would Leon's e-Handbook suddenly go missing? If someone did take it, then why? Chihiro was the one who was killed, so there would be no point. Did someone take it and put that blood on the punching bag to pin the blame on someone else?'_

During his search for Byakuya, Aoi called him and ran up to him.

"Something wrong, Hina?"

"Yeah, something really weird. After I read the Monokuma File, I checked to see if any of the knives in the dining hall had been taken, but they were all still there."

"Well, according to Kyoko, it's unlikely that a knife was used to kill Chihiro. Even if one was used, there would be no time for the killer to grab one or clean it off."

"Yeah, you're right. The dining hall doors were locked and I made it there first this morning and no one went into the kitchen," She scratched her check in thought, "I'm gonna look around more to see if I find anything. I'll let you know if I find anything, 'kay?"

"Sure. I'll be counting on you."

She turned and was about to leave, but quickly looked back, "Oh, by the way, do you think you can talk to Toko? She's been acting really weird and I'm kinda worried about her. She's near the red doors."

"I'll see what I can do."

Aoi ran off and Makoto went to the doors that lead to the trial room. Sure enough, he found Toko standing there looking impatient and antsy.

"W-W-What do y-you want?"

He took a nervous step back at the venom that seemed to seep in her words, "I... just wanted to see how you were doing. Hina said she was worried about you."

"So y-you only came to s-s-see me because the i-idiot swimmer t-t-told you? W-Why are you e-even b-b-bothering wasting time with m-me?!"

"I-I'm not doing this just because of that!"

"W-Whatever. Just g-go finish your l-little investigation," She grasped tightly onto her head and groaned loudly, "This whole t-thing is so s-stressful! I a-already feel l-like I'm going c-c-crazy! I'm i-in one p-place last night and the n-next thing I k-know, I'm in m-my room..." Her last sentence was under her breath and likely said to herself.

Figuring it was best he leave her be, Makoto went back upstairs to look for Byakuya. He finally managed to find him as the affluent progeny walked out of the library.

"Hey, Byakuya!"

"What do you want?"

His sharp cold tone caused Makoto to momentarily tense up, "Ah... um-"

"If you have nothing of importance to say, don't bother wasting my time."

Makoto gulped and managed to find his words, "What were you doing in the library?"

"I wanted to get confirmation for a theory regarding our killer, and this was the only place that would be beneficial to me. I believe I now have a clear picture."

"W-Wait! You mean you know who the killer is?! Who was it?"

"And why should I just tell you?"

"B-Because we all have to work together! If we don't find the killer, we'll all-"

"So you need to rely on others just to save your own skin?" He cut him off, his cold blue eyes burning holes into him, "You somehow managed to piece together Sayaka's crime, so surely you can do the same here. Or is that too much for someone as worthless as you?"

"That's not-"

"If you have the competence to survive this long, then you can continue to rely on that luck of yours. Perhaps if you find yourself on the verge of death, I might consider throwing you a lifeline," With one last cynical smile, Byakuya walked past him.

Makoto's mind wandered as he tried to piece his confidence back together, something that was becoming common anytime he spoke to the taller teenager. Byakuya seemed to have some damning evidence pointing to the killer and Makoto noted that there were no injuries on his hands either, though he suspected Byakuya the least due to him spending all his time in the library. He hadn't even gotten the chance to ask if he saw anything suspicious after leaving the library last night. 

 _'Still, what exactly did he manage to find? Could it really reveal who the killer is? I could check the library, but I don't have the faintest clue what to look for.'_ He briefly considered checking just to be sure, but he was stopped by a familiar chime as Monokuma appeared on the monitors in the hall.

"Erm, so ah... I'm getting tired of waiting. Shall we just plunge right in? It's the moment you've all been waiting for... the class trial! You remember where to meet, right? Please go through the red door on the 1st floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!"

The monitors turned off. Even though there was still a lot of factors he didn't fully understand, Makoto knew what he had to do next. Like it or not, it was now time to discover the truth. He quickly arrived in front of the ominous red doors and went inside. Everyone else was already there.

Monokuma appeared in the room, "Look's like everyone is all ready to go! You all feeling that sense of camaraderie yet?"

"Let's hurry up and get this shit over with!"

"Ohh! That's quite the fire you have there, Mr. Owada! So much passion and fury to discover the truth and avenge your little friend! I'm practically trembling under your intense aura!" Monokuma started shaking to punctuate his words.

"What the fuck else were you expecting?!"

"No need to worry, bro! We shall see to it that Chihiro's murderer will be revealed! Justice shall prevail!"

"Well, don't let me stand in your way. Head down to the trial grounds when you're all ready!" In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

There was a suffocating silence as everyone boarded the elevator, one that lingered as they slowly descended. Makoto took this time to reflect on everything he had learned during the investigation.

With every new piece of evidence that was found, the crime became more and more confusing. He was trying to piece things together in his mind, but nothing was coming together into a coherent picture. What was used to kill Chihiro, why her body was in front of the boys locker room, where the blood on the punching bag and hallway wall came from, why her duffel bag had been left in the hall, Leon's e-Handbook suddenly disappearing; all these were factors that he was hoping to find the solution for. Not just for his own sake, but for the sake of everyone else. The truth to the murder of Chihiro Fujisaki had to be brought to light.

Only through their deadly class trial.


	2. Trial 2: The Case of Chihiro Fujisaki part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the trial and HOLY JESUS this is longer than I thought it would be! In fact, it ended up being so long that I'll give you guys a little trivia about it. The trial chapter, from start to finish, is 21 PAGES on my Google Docs! 13000 words! That's almost as long as the entire Yandere Yusuke series! Now, I didn't want to post the entirety of that in a single chapter, since I don't want to have this massive jump in chapter sizes, which I know can be grueling for some to read, especially in one go. So I decided to make the chapter a two-parter. I'll upload the first half today and the second half in about three or four days. I think that's a fair trade-off. If the other trials in this rewrite end up being a similar length, I might just have this be the tradition, but we'll just have to wait and see.  
> Anyway, I think I explained it all, so let's get onto the trial!

“Let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out “whodunnit” then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one… Then I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate!”

Monokuma’s explanation fell on deaf ears, most of the students wanting nothing more than to get this trial over and done with. For Makoto, he couldn’t take his eyes off the seat between Byakuya and Yasuhiro. Just a few days ago, Chihiro had stood there, trying her best to assist in solving Sayaka’s murder. Now, a stand holding a picture of her face with a large X painted over it took her place. It was the final nail in the coffin for anyone still holding onto the hope that Chihiro wasn’t truly gone.

“Lemme just say this now,” Mondo’s furious tone shattered the lingering silence like glass, “Whatever asshole did this to Chihiro, you better start praying. Cause once I find out who you are, you’re fuckin’ dead!”

“While I do not agree with bro’s vulgarity, know that I intend to expose the culprit by any means necessary as well!”

“Puhuhu. I do so love to see young folk so full of vigor and determination. Well then, how about I help to get things started? Let’s begin by discussing the murder weapon!”

 _‘What was used to kill Chihiro?’_ Makoto kept the question at the forefront of his mind as he listened in.

“Unfortunately, the murder weapon was removed from the scene!” Kiyotaka began.

“S-S-So we d-don’t know what k-killed her?” Toko stuttered out.

“We might not know what exactly was used,” Aoi said, “But we can still figure it out using the clues we have.”

“The Monokuma File said she died from stabbing,” Yasuhiro said, “So couldn’t she have been killed with a knife?”

“No, I don’t think a knife was used to kill her,” Makoto interjected, “According to Kyoko, the wounds on Chihiro don’t resemble a stab from a knife.”

“How c-can you be s-sure of that?”

“I compared the wounds on Chihiro to Sayaka’s wound, and I found that the wounds were too thin and slim to have been caused by a knife. And considering how deep her wounds were, I can be sure of that.”

“Furthermore, I doubt that a knife was ever taken. You can attest to that, right, Hina?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah. I checked the dining hall during the investigation and all the knives in the kitchen were still there. And I was the first one there this morning and no one went into the kitchen.”

“But couldn’t the killer have brought the knife back while everyone was distracted?” Hifumi asked.

“Impossible. Besides, the killer never would have been able to get the knife in the first place,” Byakuya spoke up, “The dining hall was set to be closed right after Monokuma gave the motive. What reason would they have to take a knife beforehand?”

“That’s true,” Makoto spoke, his mind wandering. _‘A knife was definitely not used. But, if so, what was?’_

“I do wonder; why was Ms. Fujisaki in the locker room area at that point in time?”

“She likely came to exercise. She’s already spoken of wanting to become stronger,” Sakura answered, “Although, I am questioning that since it seems she came alone.”

“Yeah,” Aoi added, “She said she was too nervous to even go inside the locker room. Did she really go there to exercise that late and all alone?”

“She had to,” Makoto spoke up, “It wouldn’t make sense for her to be there for any other reason. Plus, she seemed to have already been planning to go last night. Right, Celeste?”

“Of course. I saw Chihiro last night in the dormitory warehouse, just before Monokuma called us to the gym. She was grabbing a track jacket and a duffel bag.”

“Also, Mondo and Taka found the same track jacket and duffel bag Chihiro took at the scene of the crime,” Makoto continued, “So we can confirm that Chihiro had gone to exercise when she was killed.”

“And she’d really want to go after that motive,” Mondo added, “You remember what she said? How she was gonna get stronger so she can tell everyone her secret?”

Makoto could remember that promise, the small spark of determination in her eyes as she swore to improve herself. He could feel a pang in his heart knowing that she never was able to fulfill that promise.

“It is clear that she had gone to exercise,” The gambler started, “But with the murder happening so late, how can we begin to identify the one who killed her? Even more, she mentioned that she was in a hurry, meaning she was likely going to meet someone.”

“You think we'll find out who killed her if we figure out who she was going to see?” Yasuhiro asked.

“Perhaps. But there doesn’t seem to be much evidence to assist us in that," She answered.

“We might not be able to come to a clear decision now,” Kyoko spoke, “But we can make inferences based on the evidence we have.”

“H-How exactly are we s-supposed to d-do that?”

“You might be able to shed some light on that, right, Makoto?”

“R-Right,” He stuttered, taken off guard, “There were a lot of strange things I discovered during my search. One of them being in the boys locker room. I found blood there, specifically on the punching bag.”

“The punching bag?” The swimmer asked.

He nodded, “It was the only part of the room that was disturbed in any way.”

“If I may interrupt,” Sakura cut in, “I’d like to share something I found. After Makoto told me about the blood he found in the boys locker room, I decided to look into the girls locker room to see if there was anything worth noting. However, I found nothing out of the ordinary.”

“So because blood was only found in the boys locker room, that must be a clue to the culprit!” Kiyotaka shouted.

“Then the killer must be a guy?” Yasuhiro asked.

“That’s what I thought at first, but what I found doesn’t line up with the evidence. After all, none of the guys have injuries on their hands that point to them using the punching bag.”

“Then… perhaps the killer used the punching bag for something else?” Hifumi wondered, “Perhaps they used it to knock Ms. Fujisaki unconscious?”

“Why the hell would they bother doing that?” Mondo spoke, “The punching bag’s heavy as shit and would take too much effort to knock her ass out by surprise. Plus, they’d have to smack her real hard to get blood on it.”

“The Monokuma File states nothing about a blow to the head, and I found no such injury during my inspection of her body.”

“T-Then… how did the b-b-blood get there?”

“Could the killer have put the blood there to frame someone else?” Aoi asked.

“What would be the point in that?” Byakuya interjected, “If the killer was a boy, they would only further implicate themselves. If the killer was a girl, their attempts would be in vain once it was made clear no males here had any injuries. Why go to such efforts for something so foolish?”

“I… guess that makes sense,” The swimmer said, embarrassed.

“Furthermore, how would a girl even get into the boys locker room?” Celeste asked, “The school regulations prohibit lending ones e-Handbook to another.”

“The rules prohibit the act of loaning your handbook,” The heir spoke, “However, borrowing does not apply to that rule. Especially when said owner of the handbook is longer around.”

“What the hell are you going on about?” Mondo asked.

“You understand what I mean, don’t you, Monokuma? Perhaps you should explain to them.”

The bear gave a small laugh, “I should have expected the Ultimate Affluent Progeny to find the loophole in that rule. It's true that you can’t borrow a handbook from a student, but if they're dead, they're not a student. Therefore, I decree that borrowing the e-Handbook of a corpse is not in violation of regulations!”

“So, a girl could get into the boys locker room if they were to use Leon’s e-Handbook,” Sakura explained.

“Then that means the handbooks would have to be somewhere in the school,” Aoi spoke.

“They are,” Makoto spoke up, “And you can attest to that, right, Hiro?”

“Yeah. I found the handbooks in that mailbox in the main hall. But I told you that Leon’s wasn’t there, and I could find it anywhere.”

“I believe I know where it is now- the killer has it with them!”

“Wha- Seriously?!” Hifumi shrieked.

“The killer could have found the handbooks last night, took Leon’s, and used it to access the boys locker room to plant the blood there.”

“In that case, answer this, Makoto,” Byakuya eyes glared at him, “If they took Leon’s handbook to plant blood in the boys locker, why did they not place the handbook back?”

He locked up, “Ah-!"

“Why keep his handbook with them, knowing it could serve as conclusive evidence linking them to the murder? Why would they take such an astronomical risk when they could have simply placed the handbook back where it belonged with none the wiser to it having vanished for a short period?”

“Oh, w-well… um…” His brain tried to find some answer, but nothing sensible was coming to light.

“Let me guess- you don’t have an answer, do you?” He asked, a smug smile on his face.

“W-Well, not at the moment… but…”

“Even though it’s only a theory, there is still a possibility it might be the case,” Kyoko’s sharp tone pierced throughout the courtroom.

“Can you truly be sure of that?” Celeste spoke, disbelief clear in her voice, “You truly believe our killer would be so careless in their crime?”

“It’s not outside the realm of possibility. When you take a look at the crime, it feels very sloppy. The killer removed crucial evidence, the murder weapon, from the scene, but other crucial evidence, the track jacket and duffel bag, were left at the scene. And if we’re to believe that the killer took Leon’s e-Handbook to plant blood in the boys locker room, they didn’t return it even though they had plenty of opportunities to do so. And there’s one more crucial factor.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Kiyotaka asked.

“The location of the victim's body.”

 _‘Oh, that’s right!’_ Makoto had been so wrapped up in other facets of this case, that fact had barely crossed his mind, _‘Why was she in front of the boys locker room? I never really gave that any thought.’_

“With how impulsive this murder feels, it’s likely the killer took Chihiro off guard. So, that begs the question, why was Chihiro’s body in front of the boys locker room?”

“It’s unlikely our killer thought far enough to plan where exactly to kill her,” Celeste asked.

“Maybe she used her last bit of strength to drag herself there to let us know who killed her?” Yasuhiro thought aloud.

“Methinks she was killed elsewhere and placed in front of the locker room!” Hifumi proposed.

“Could they have accomplished that without getting any blood anywhere else?” Sakura questioned.

“That’s impossible!” Kiyotaka shouted, “After all, there was blood on her handbook!”

“Maybe they dropped the handbook in the blood to put it there,” Aoi wondered.

“I don’t think that’s how the blood got on Chihiro’s handbook,” Makoto interrupted, “The way the blood is splattered doesn’t look like it was simply dropped in the blood. Plus, there’s the shape of a hand on the blood, meaning Chihiro must have been holding her handbook when she was killed.”

“If that is true, then Chihiro must have been attacked and killed when she was about to enter the girls locker room,” The gambler said.

“Then it must have happened as I said!” The clairvoyant spoke up, “She used the last of her strength to crawl to the boys locker room door to tell us who killed her!”

“I highly doubt that,” She spoke with a curt tone.

“Huh? Why not?”

“If you take a look at the scene, there wasn’t a single trace of blood in front of the girls locker room,” Sakura explained.

“Furthermore,” Byakuya started, “If Chihiro had been attacked when she was about to enter the girls locker room and was brought to the front of the boys locker room to be killed, she would definitely struggle against her attacker and would most likely drop her handbook before blood could get on it.”

“That’s true…” Makoto somehow found himself even more confused than when they first started the trial.

“Still, this is quite the predicament,” Hifumi said, panic already beginning to show in his voice, “Even with all the clues left behind, we still haven’t determined how Ms. Fujisaki was killed.”

“Yeah, and we haven’t even gotten close to finding out who the killer is!” Aoi said, also beginning to show fear.

“Geez! You’ve been at this for how long and you **still** haven’t figured it out?!” Monokuma shouted, frustration clear in his voice, “You all had better start moving your asses or I’m ending this trial my way!”

“S-S-Someone hurry a-and f-figure it out b-before we d-d-die!” Toko yelled, hands gripping her long braids.

 _‘Sure, you say that, but… finding a connection is way harder than we thought. Who could have killed Chihiro? And how were they able to do it so brutally without getting blood anywhere else? There’s gotta be something to work off of! If not, we’ll all die here!’_ Makoto frantically searched for some clue that laid hidden within the evidence, hoping that something would come to light and give them some kind of guidance. The fact that nothing was coming to mind was further igniting his frustrations. _‘I can’t let everyone down! There has to be something I missed! Something I’m not getting! Just anything, please!’_

“There is something I’d like to pursue,” As if sensing the rising panic in his thoughts, Kyoko spoke up.

“T-T-Then hurry up and s-say it!”

“I can’t say for fact that this will reveal the culprit, but there are two people here I’d like to question.”

“Huh?” Makoto asked confused.

“Who is it?! Who do you want to question?!” Kiyotaka asked.

“You and Mondo.”

Her blunt words instantly sent a wave of panic and suspicion throughout the courtroom, the two teens she called out seized up in shock.

“Wha- Us?!” Kiyotaka shouted, fear already swimming in his intense red eyes.

“You open your fuckin’ mouth to help us and now your smart ass is pointing the finger at us?! What fuckin’ proof do you have that we have anything to do with this shit?!”

“Throughout our discussion, I’ve been keeping my eye on everyone’s physical behavior for any signs of something worth noting. And when we started to discuss the blood in the boys locker room and where exactly Chihiro was killed, I noticed how you both started to stay quiet.”

_‘Seriously? I never even noticed them acted differently.’_

“I noticed something about the way you two have been acting as well,” Byakuya spoke up, a devious spark in his eyes, “Even though both of you seemed so dead set on wanting to uncover the truth, you’ve both been relatively quiet throughout most of the trial. I expected you two to lead the discussion if nothing else,” He glared at both of them, “So if there’s something you’d like to share with us, feel free to speak up.”

“Y-You’re not accusing one of us of being the culprit, are you?!”

“You better have some damn good fuckin’ excuse for thinkin’ we did it!”

“As I said, I can’t say for certain that this will reveal either one of you to be the culprit, but your odd behavior is something worth discussing. If you’d like for me to drop my accusations, then I’d like for you two to explain what’s wrong to all of us.”

Silence befell the room. The spotlight had been cast onto Mondo and Kiyotaka, but both teens stayed quiet, sharing a nervous glance as sweat began to form on their foreheads.

“Mondo, Taka, please…” Makoto pleaded to them, “I don’t want to suspect either one of you. If you can prove your innocence, then please do it. Please tell us what you’re hiding.”

The courtroom remained dead silent, everyone on edge, waiting to see what would happen next. Makoto could see that Byakuya was about to open his mouth, likely going to push their buttons even further, but he was stopped when Kiyotaka straightened up and looked to Mondo.

“Bro, perhaps it’s best if we tell them the truth.”

His eyes widened at his words, “What?! But bro, if we do that-!”

“I know, we’ll be breaking our promise to Chihiro. But we don’t have any other choice. I-I won’t let you fall under suspicion! I won’t allow it!” His words became more intense as he spoke, a rising look of dread in his eyes after he finished his last sentence.

Mondo stared at him for a moment before he looked down and let out a heavy sight, “You might be right about that. We probably should tell ‘em.”

“W-Wait a minute!” Aoi spoke up, nervousness seeping in her voice, “Truth? Promise? What are you-”

“Everyone, quiet down and listen up! We have an important announcement to make!”

“Look, I know this is gonna sound weird as shit and ya probably won’t believe us, but it’s the truth. And it’s gonna explain all the weird shit that’s happened: where Chihiro’s body was, the blood in the locker room; everything.”

“W-What is it?” Makoto asked, already mentally preparing himself for whatever was going to be revealed.

Mondo was silent for a few seconds before he looked up at everyone and spoke, “Chihiro’s actually a guy.”

Those words sent the entire room into a frenzied panic, everyone trying to digest the information that was given to them.

“What?! A boy?” Sakura was the first to spoke up.

“Ah, I see. So “she” was actually a “he”. Interesting. Thank you for confirming this fact,” Hifumi’s demeanor changed from calm to disbelief in the blink of an eye, “WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!”

“You’re joking, right?” Yasuhiro asked.

“Why would we joke about something like this?” Kiyotaka answered.

“B-B-But… that’s c-c-crazy!”

“Y-Yeah, but… if you think about it, it kinda makes a lot of sense,” Aoi responded.

“Then it’s true…” Makoto said, “Chihiro was… a guy?”

“What, you all didn’t know?” Monokuma spoke up, “Heck, I knew that right off the bat! Chihiro Fujisaki was totally a guy!”

“And I can confirm this to be the truth,” Kyoko said, “I discovered this myself during my inspection of his body. And I assume that this must be related to the secret you both mentioned, correct?”

“Correct,” Kiyotaka answered, “Bro and I both knew about Chihiro’s secret.”

“But… how did you find out about it?” Aoi asked, “I mean, Chihiro seemed pretty nervous about telling us.”

“He meet with me last night, said he thought he could trust me with it. Bro was with me, so I guess he figured “fuck it” and told both of us,” Mondo explained, “He wanted to get stronger so he could tell the rest of ya, so we promised to help him and we’d let him tell you guys.”

“I see,” Kyoko said, “So that’s why you both kept quiet. In truth, I had suspected that you had known about this from the very beginning.”

“Wha- How the hell did ya figure that?”

“Maybe you didn’t notice it, Mondo, but you tend to refer to men and women differently. You only call guys “dude”. For girls, it’s “chick”. And during our investigation, you happened to refer to him as “dude”. Once that happened, I figured you must have known something we didn’t.”

“You noticed such a tiny detail?” Hifumi asked, amazed.

“However, I hadn’t realized that Taka knew the truth as well. And seeing that both of you mentioned this “secret”, I assume that this secret must be related to that?”

“Yeah, we promised we’d keep it secret until he told the rest of you. But once we started getting into hot shit, looks like we had no choice.”

“And now that you all know, I’d like to make an assertion,” The prefect spoke up, “I propose that the blood found on the punching bag came from Chihiro!”

“Huh? That was Mr. Fujisaki’s blood?” Hifumi asked, “But how did it get there?”

“I think I might know how,” Makoto answered, “During Kyoko’s examination, she found injuries on the backs of Chihiro’s hands, and she said they couldn’t have come from the murder weapon. And now that we know that Chihiro’s a boy, I can say that those injuries must have come from him using the punching bag.”

“I can confirm that to be possible,” Sakura spoke up, “After examining those wounds, I recognized them immediately. Those wounds are a result of when one uses a punching bag without properly wrapping their hands before starting.”

“This also explains the location of his body,” Celeste said, “If he went to the locker room to exercise and received those injuries on his hands, then it’s most likely that he was attacked and killed when he left.”

“Oh, hold on a sec,” Aoi said, “You said that Chihiro asked you to work out with him, so then you were with him when he was attacked?”

“No. We were supposed to start last night, but we had to hold it off. My damn handbook broke.”

“Huh?” Makoto asked, “Your handbook broke? How?”

“How the hell should I know? The thing was working fine until last night.”

“That’s strange. I didn’t take the handbooks as being so fragile, especially with how proud Monokuma was about them,” Byakuya said.

“It’s certainly visible now that the e-Handbooks have a weak point that could cause them to break. And you likely know what this weakness is, don’t you, Monokuma? Perhaps you should tell us,” Kyoko spoke with confidence.

“Khh! Well, aren’t you a sharp one! But still, how can I trust that none of you will try to break your own handbooks?” Monokuma spoke in a tone that was drench in phony sadness, “If you were to destroy them, that would be very not good.”

“Just tell us! Why would we want to break our own handbooks on purpose?” Aoi demanded.

Monokuma sighed, “Very well. I’m not all that good at saying no to pushy demands. Now listen up, cause I’m only saying this once. The weak point of the cutting edge e-Handbook is… when it’s exposed to high temperatures, it will suffer a meltdown and totally break!”

“High temperatures…” Kiyotaka thought for a second before exclaiming, “Ah, I got it! Bro, your handbook must have broken during our duel!”

“Makes sense. Musta left it in my pocket and forgot.”

“That’s certainly quite the pathetic oversight, even for someone like you,” Byakuya snarked.

“Monokuma told us these fucking things were unbreakable! How the hell was I supposed to know that shit?!”

“Well, how was I supposed to know you’d be stupid enough to have it with you during your little dick measuring contest?!” The bear yelled.

“Do not refer to it with such vulgarity!”

“Anyway,” Makoto spoke up, “If your handbook was broken, Mondo, then it would make sense for you to not be there at the scene of the crime. After all, the rule strictly prohibits holding the locker room door open for someone else.”

“W-Wait a minute,” Toko spoke up, “You s-said you’d explain e-everything, b-but what about Leon’s handbook? We s-still don’t know w-where it is.”

“No, we do.”

Without waiting for a reply, Mondo reached into one of the pockets of his jacket, taking out a handbook, and turned it one. The name “Leon Kuwata” appeared on the screen.

“Wait, so _you_ took Leon’s handbook?” Aoi asked in shock.

“I was plannin’ on gettin’ Monokuma to fix mine in the morning, but just in case, I grabbed this from the main hall.”

“And when exactly did you take this handbook from the main hall?” Byakuya asked.

“Around 11:30. Why the hell does that matter?”

“Interesting,” He smirked, “Then this means that despite your claims about how you could go due to your handbook being broken, you obviously had other means of entering. In other words, it’s still likely that you could have killed him.”

“The fuck did you just-!”

“And while you’ve given your own flimsy reason for not being in the locker room with Chihiro, I’ve yet to hear a viable excuse from Taka. After all, he also knew about Chihiro’s secret, so it’s very much possible he knew where Chihiro would be.”

“W-What are you-!”

“Are you saying… you think Mr. Owada or Mr. Ishimaru could have done it?!”

“That’s impossible! Bro and I would never kill someone, especially Chihiro!”

“Well, if you’d like for us to believe that,” Celeste’s eyes gleamed with a mischievous and menacing aura, “Then do you perhaps have an alibi for you both?”

“Of course I do!”

“Wait, you do?” Yasuhiro asked.

“After our conversation with Chihiro, I noticed that bro seemed a bit uneasy after telling us about his secret. So, a while after the nighttime announcement, I went to speak with him in his room. I apologize for breaking our rule, but I had to perform my responsibility as his friend.”

“Is this true, Mondo?” Sakura asked.

“Yeah. Figured he’d want to talk with me about it, but I thought he’d wait ‘till morning. Didn’t think he’d come in the middle of the damn night.”

“How long did this talk of yours last?” Celeste asked.

“I kept meticulous watch of our meeting time. It was precisely from midnight to 1 am, no more or less!”

“And at any time during your discussion, did either of you leave the room?” Kyoko asked.

“Negative.”

“Then it’s impossible for either of them to be the culprit,” Sakura said, “They would have been unable to be at the scene when the crime was committed.”

“I… suppose that’s true,” Celeste begrudgingly said as Byakuya looked off to the side, remaining silent.

“Exactly what we’ve been sayin’, ya fucking smartasses! You can take your shitty arguments and shove ‘em up your asses!”

“F-F-Fine, you two d-didn’t do it. B-But then, w-who did d-do it?”

“Even with the knowledge of Chihiro’s gender, it doesn’t do much to limit our list of suspects,” Byakuya explained, “After all, all our killer had to do was wait for him to leave the locker room and kill him on the spot. So long as they knew he would be there at the time, it could be anyone.”

“S-So, you mean…” Yasuhiro’s hands gripped his hair tight, “We’re still screwed?! We have no way of finding out the killer?! Game over, man! Game over!”

Hifumi screamed, “No! Not game over!”

“Calm down,” Kyoko spoke up, “We’re not out of options just yet. We still have a means of coming closer to the identity of the culprit.”

“H-How are we s-supposed to do t-that?”

“There’s one particular topic we need to discuss: the possibility that the attack may have begun elsewhere.”

_‘The attack began somewhere else… it might seem like a stretch, but there is evidence to support that.’_

“It’s clear that Chihiro was killed in front of the boys locker room,” Kyoko began, “But is that as far as it goes? Isn’t it possible that he was first attacked elsewhere?”

“Like inside of the locker room? Maybe his killer snuck up on him when he was training!” Yasuhiro questioned.

“Highly unlikely,” Byakuya answered, “Our killer did quite the sloppy job disposing of evidence of their own crime. I doubt they were ever planning to kill him.”

“Plus, only Mondo and Taka knew he was a boy,” Aoi spoke, “So they wouldn’t even know Chihiro would be there.”

“W-Why are we even d-discussing this? There’s n-no e-e-evidence he was attacked s-somewhere else.”

“Actually, Toko, there is evidence that could point to Chihiro being attacked somewhere else. Specifically, it might be possible that he was attacked in the hallway.”

“The hallway?” Hifumi asked.

“On one of the walls leading to the locker room area, I found small specks of blood on the wall.”

“On the wall? I didn’t see anything when we first went there,” Kiyotaka said.

“Well, it was really small. I didn’t even see it myself at first. That little amount of blood couldn’t have come from Chihiro’s fatal injuries, but there is another way it could have gotten there.”

“Are you referring to that cut Kyoko found on his arm?” Sakura asked.

“Exactly. The cut looked no worse than a paper cut and it felt so out of place compared to the rest of his injuries. But not so much if you consider the attack started in the hallway.”

“But if that cut was a result of the killer, what was the purpose of it?” Celeste asked.

“A warning strike.”

“Warning strike?” Aoi asked.

“Whoever committed the crime likely wanted to let Chihiro know their intentions, so they used their weapon to cut him as a form of intimidation,” Kyoko explained.

“And there’s more evidence pointing to this being the case,” Makoto added, “Mondo, Taka, you said you found the track jacket and duffel bag Chihiro had in the hallway, right?”

“Yeah. We ain’t figured out why the shit it was there.”

“That was the case, but with what we know now, we can finally answer that. Chihiro left the locker room after finishing his workout, was attacked in the hall leading to the locker rooms, and likely dropped his duffel bag in the hallway. It wouldn’t make sense if the killer placed it there. After all, why leave a crucial piece of evidence out in the open?”

“OK, so Chihiro left the locker room, was attacked in the hallway as soon as he left, dropped his bag and ran away,” Aoi summarized, “But then… why would he run back to the locker room?”

“Shouldn’t that be obvious?” Byakuya sneered, “He was fleeing from his assailant.”

“Fleeing?” Hifumi asked.

“Chihiro wasn’t going to just stand around and get killed. Obviously, once he sensed he was in danger, he would try to avoid death. In this case, he fled to the back boys locker room. And there’s only one reason why he would choose to go there. You should, hopefully, know what this is, right, Makoto?”

 _‘He’s right. There’s only one explanation for why Chihiro would have run back to the boys locker room.’_ “It’s because whoever killed Chihiro… was a girl.”

“Exactly. At least you’re not completely hopeless.”

_‘Gee, thanks.’_

"Chihiro knew that only a boys handbook could open the boys locker room, and anyone that tried to enter without swiping their handbook would be shot dead instantly. So if the person trying to kill him was a girl, he knew he would be safe if he hid in the locker room. And since Mondo had already taken Leon’s handbook, they would have had no means of entering and finishing the dead.”

“I see,” Celeste said, “So the reason he was killed outside the boys locker room was that he was trying to get inside to escape his assailant.”

“Then that must be why he was holding his e-Handbook when he was killed,” Kiyotaka said, “He was just about to succeed in his escape!”

“I think it’s not a stretch to say that a girl was indeed the one who killed him. In other words…” His eyes quickly scanned the circle, glaring at each female, “One of you five is the killer.”

_‘Kyoko, Toko, Celeste, Hina, Sakura- one of them killed Chihiro. But who?’_

“There’s no doubt in mind that one of you is the culprit,” Byakuya started.

“Yeah, but which one of them fucking did it?!”

“If you’d like to prove your innocence, then give us any kind of reasoning to save yourself,” The scion continued.

“I only learned of Chihiro’s gender during the investigation,” Kyoko started, “And I had no means of knowing he would be in the locker rooms, so I couldn’t have done it.”

“Is that really a good enough excuse, though?” Yasuhiro asked.

“I wouldn’t break the rule I created. So I’m afraid it’s not me,” Celeste stated.

“You’re “afraid”?” Kiyotaka asked, bewildered.

“Sakura and I worked out last night until midnight, and we walked back to our rooms together. We didn’t even know Chihiro would be working out last night. So neither of us did it,” Aoi explained.

“B-But Ms. Ogami would have no trouble killing Mr. Fujisaki. Their builds and strengths are on entirely different levels.”

“That has nothing to do with this!”

“I-I-I’m n-not the k-killer… I n-never even w-went to the s-second f-floor last night.”

“Actually Toko, I think I can say for sure you were on the second floor last night,” Makoto stopped her.

“Wha- W-W-Why are you g-ganging up on me?! Do y-you really h-hate me that m-much?!”

“This is something you can confirm, right Sakura?”

“Makoto’s not wrong, Toko. I saw you standing outside the library after Hina and I finished our workout.”

“S-S-So what?! That was at m-midnight! H-How do you k-know I was t-there afterward?!”

“Byakuya, what about you?” Kiyotaka spoke up, “Can you confirm that Toko was on the second floor around the time of the murder?”

“D-Don’t you d-dare put him on the s-spot! M-Master will n-never fall for yo-”

“I was in the library until around 1:30 in the morning,” Byakuya started, completely ignoring her, “Toko was leering at me ever since I first got there. However, around 12:30, I noticed that her unbearable stench was gone, so I assumed she left. And I was surprised to find that she wasn’t anywhere around me when I left and returned to my room.”

“Gah!” Toko started to visibly sweat.

“Well, Toko?! Where the fuck were you and what the fuck were you doing?!” Mondo’s eyes were glaring holes into her.

“I-I-I wasn’t doing a-anything! Y-You’re just b-blaming me cause you c-can’t find the t-truth. You have n-no p-proof I did it!”

“Guys, she might be right,” Aoi spoke up.

“Why the fuck are you defending her?!”

“Well, I mean, come on! Toko has… bloodophobia or whatever. How could she have killed Chihiro like that without fainting from the blood?”

“E-Exactly! The i-idiot swimmer girl is r-right!”

"Toko, I'm trying to help you!"

_‘Hina has a point. How could Toko have killed Chihiro without being bothered by the blood?'_

“Could Toko have killed him? The answer is yes and no,” Byakuya answered.

“What’s with the sudden riddle?” Yasuhiro asked.

“During the investigation, I decided to do some research on an interesting topic I learned about yesterday.”

“That’s why you were in the library?” Makoto asked, “What were you looking into?”

“Do you recall the possible suspect Chihiro brought up a few days ago, regarding the person that might be responsible for imprisoning us here?”

After a moment of silence, Celeste answered, “Are you referring to Genocide Jack?”

“Precisely. I discovered an interesting file hidden within the archives in the library, one that describes every fact the police force has discovered regarding them. One particular fact stood out to me: the belief that whoever Genocide Jack is might have Dissociative Identity Disorder. It would explain the time frame they commit their murders and why they have yet to be found.”

“That is interesting, but what does this have to do with this murder?” Sakura asked.

“Simple. It’s Toko.”

“Huh?” Makoto asked.

“Genocide Jack’s true identity… is Toko Fukawa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With that, the first half is done! I think you all can see why I didn't want to upload the whole thing in one go. Anyway, part 2 will be out on either June 1st or 2nd, depending on which day I can get to a computer.  
> 


	3. Trial 2: The Case of Chihiro Fujisaki part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the second part of the trial! I was gonna have this up yesterday, but then some last minute babysitting came up and I can't focus on a computer and a kid at the same time, so I had to make that my main priority.  
> Anyway, without further ado, let's finish this up and reveal the full truth.

“Genocide Jack’s true identity… is Toko Fukawa.”

“YOU LIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!” Hifumi screamed out.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What?” Toko seemed to visibly shrink.

“Her other personality, Genocide Jack, is a serial killer. She would have no problem looking at blood, much less with brutally murdering an innocent soul like Chihiro. The time when she left her usual spot leering at me from outside the library, her other personality got out and murdered Chihiro.”

“No fucking way!”

“H-H-How…?”

“Yeah! How could you know all this?” Aoi asked.

“I believe you misunderstood. Her question wasn’t “How do you know?” No, instead it’s “How could you tell them?”

“Huh?”

“Last night, just before Monokuma called us to the gym, Toko and I had an interesting conversation. She told me that a murderous fiend lived within her and she was afraid of it coming out and killing more people. And I believe it’s safe to assume that the secret Monokuma was threatening to expose was regarding this. Isn’t that right, Toko?”

“Nngh… gah…”

“This is all a lie… right, Toko?” Aoi asked, desperation clear in her voice.

“You said you wouldn’t t-tell anyone.”

“What?!”

“You p-promised… I can’t b-believe you lied!”

“You have only yourself to blame,” His voice was concise and brutal, “You came to me with your tragic little story. I never asked you to. Besides, you broke your own promise. You swore that so long as you were here, you wouldn’t let Genocide Jack kill anyone. But, in spite of all that, you just weren’t able to control yourself and the rush you get from killing, could you?”

Toko was silent, trembling like a leaf. Everyone was silent, in disbelief at what they were hearing, until Kiyotaka spoke up, “Toko, is this true?! Did your other personality kill Chihiro?!”

“I d-d-don’t know…”

“How the fuck do you not know?! It’s your own goddamn body!”

“I-I really d-don’t know! I don’t share m-memories with her! I-I don’t know if she d-did it or not!”

“Well, there’s only one way for us to confirm this as fact,” Byakuya said, “We need to speak with her ourselves. You know how to summon her, so make yourself useful and bring her out.”

“S-Summon her?” Her eyes widened and she gripped her hair, “N-N-No! I c-can’t let her out! N-Not again!”

Byakuya sighed, “Very well. I’ll just have to do it myself.”

Byakuya stepped off his podium and walked over to Toko. The other students were silently observing him, wondering what he was about to do. Toko, in particular, was a shaking mess, glancing at him from the side, trembling in fear of what was to come. No one expected Byakuya to suddenly pull out a knife and run the sharp blade across his left palm with no hesitation. In a second, he was standing directly behind her, holding his bloody palm in front of her face and grabbing her shoulders with his free arm to keep her from fleeing.

“Aah!” Toko gasped.

“B-Byakuya, what are you-!” Makoto started.

“You said it yourself; you can’t stand the sight of blood, how just a single drop is enough to make you faint. Well, that’s exactly what I need you to do. You’ve served your purpose, now it’s time for your other self to do her job. It’s time to wake up, Genocide Jack.”

Toko stared directly at the blood dripping down Byakuya’s hand, dripping onto the podium in front of her. She looked like she wanted to look away, but her eyes couldn’t find the strength to look elsewhere. Her breathing became short and ragged, her eyes widening until they were pinpricks. After a few seconds, her eyes rolled back into her head and Byakuya let her go as she fell to the ground with a hard thud. Everyone kept their eyes on Toko as Byakuya walked back to his seat, taking out a handkerchief to wrap around his wound, waiting to see what would happen. Aoi was about to run off her seat to help the writer, but before she could, Toko stood up. Not normally, however. Her body rose up from an uncomfortable arch, her spine bending back in a way that shouldn’t be physically possible, like a puppet being lazily pulled up by its strings. When she stood back up, she was different.

“Well hello there! Is it me you were hoping to see?!”

Her melancholy tone and stutter were gone, replaced with frightening upbeat energy. Her tongue was abnormally long, hanging down past her neck. But the most frightening change was her eyes, red and large and swirling with unmeasurable lunacy.

“Gah! Eugh, what the heck?!” Hifumi screamed out, backing away from her as far as his seat would allow.

“So you figured it out, huh? Well, whatever! What’re ya gonna do?! I’m the Ultimate Murderous Fiend, Genocide Jack! Or better yet, let’s go with Genocide Jill!”

“What the fuck is this?!”

“Toko… what happened to you?”

“Not Toko! That’s a loser name! And what happened is a textbook split personality! So what if one of them happens to be a serial killer?! You should turn a blind eye to one’s faults!” She let out a psychotic laugh, showing off her razor sharp teeth, that filled the entire courtroom.

“She’s so… intense!” Yasuhiro recoiled back in fear.

“Like they say, sound in murderous mind, sound in murderous body!”

“This one is so different from the one we’ve come to know…” Sakura’s body locked up, looking ready to attack should this new face prove to be dangerous.

“Yes, well, the world is composed of a front and a back, you know. Just like how every inning has a top and a bottom, or how in the depths of every truth lives a little lie… Behind every dark and gloomy soul lives another that shines as bright as the sun!” She let out another crazed laugh, seeming impressed by her own words.

_‘THIS is the “murderous fiend” Genocide Jack? This is… This is…! This is beyond insane!’_

“Um, Ms. Jack- er, Jill? Can I ask you a question…?”

“What’s up?!” She put on an innocent front, almost looking like a harmless child, as she looked at Hifumi.

“Some of us think you might be the mastermind behind our entire situation. What are your thoughts on that?”

“Well, I’ll tell you! I am the mastermind of all masterminds!” She paused for a second before continuing, “Just kidding!”

“Then… it’s not true?” Makoto asked.

“Of course it’s not true! How dare you try to link me to that creepazoid?!” Monokuma answered before saying, “And another thing! The police and government and society in the outside world are totally powerless! I mean, they just let this idiotic bloodthirsty maniac go buck wild all over town!”

“Sure, I’m a bloodthirsty maniac. But life is pain, right? To live is to hurt other people. It’s a necessary evil if you want to survive. The act of living itself causes pain for everyone… Just kidding again!” She laughed once more.

“So… you are Genocide Jack…” Aoi changed from fear to anger in an instant, “Did you do it?! Did you kill Chihiro?!”

“You mean that scrawny little loli boy? Hmmm… maybe I did, maybe I didn’t…”

“What the fuck are you playing at?!”

“I’d be a shame if the Ultimate Murderous Fiend were to be caught by a bunch of amateur detectives. If you want to get the truth out of me, you’ll just have to work for it!”

“What do you mean by that?” Yasuhiro asked.

“Figure it out yourself, human garbage! Do you have any proof that could point to me being the culprit?!”

_‘She does have a point. Up until now, none of us suspected Genocide Jack to be the culprit since we didn’t know about her. How can I even begin to prove she did it? … Wait a minute!’_

“Byakuya, you said that you found a case file that detailed all the traits of a Genocide Jack murder. Can you tell us the rest of the details?”

“Very well. Typically, in each Genocide Jack murder case, there are two key components found at each scene. The victim is suspended in a particular way and the word “bloodlust” is written at the scene of the crime. The first detail, in particular, is something that has never been revealed to the public, so it’s a clear sign of Genocide Jack being involved.”

“Strange. Neither of those was present at the crime scene,” Celeste noted.

“True, but it’s not very surprising for that to be the case. In a game of survival, where using your modus operandi could easily have you be discovered, it’s not unusual to not use your trademark technique. Besides, even with those two traits missing, there are two factors regarding Chihiro’s murder that are consistent with her killings.”

“What are they?!” Kiyotaka asked.

“First, the victim was Chihiro, a boy, the gender that Genocide Jack strictly targets. Second is the weapon she uses to kill each of her victims: a set of razor sharp scissors.”

“Ohoo, looks like someone did their homework! And to know it was the adorable glasses man! Ahh, I’m heating up!”

“Keep your perversions to yourself and start talking.”

“Hmmhmmmhmmm, very well then! It’s true, I only kill the most adorable of adorable little men! And no matter where I am or what the reason, I would never leave without my trusty scissors! I’m a professional and I have a very particular way of doing things. I would lose any and all credibility if I were to suddenly stop!”

 _‘So Genocide Jack kills all her victims with scissors… then that means-’_ “Kyoko, the stab wounds on Chihiro’s body, do they look like the results of stabs from scissors?”

“Very much so. The blades of scissors can pierce deep and leave a small exit wound, very much in line with the wounds on Chihiro. And not just that,” She looked at the killer with deep eyes, “Genocide Jack, when we asked you about Chihiro, you described him as a boy. But until Byakuya explained the marks of your murders, none of us mentioned Chihiro’s gender. That’s something you wouldn’t know unless you were the one to kill him.”

“I see, I see! A real smarty pants, aren’t ya?! You’re several leagues better than all the man-children they had chasing after me like blind mice!”

“Enough of these games of yours,” Byakuya’s voice cut deep, “Confess it. You killed him, didn’t you?”

“Yuppers! I totally did it!” She announced without the slightest hesitation and gave a hearty laugh, “Wow, never thought I’d get the chance to do that!”

“You’re just saying it out loud?!” Hifumi said.

“It’s true? You really… killed Chihiro?” Aoi asked, voice breaking.

“Geez, do you all have 10-foot poles shoved in your ears?! How many times do I have to say it? I stabbed the hell out of that skinny girly boy!”

“B-But… Why?” Kiyotaka asked, his eyes beginning to water, “Why would you kill him?! Were you so afraid of having your secret revealed that it drove you to this?! To kill in order to survive-”

“Oh, cry me a river, you social justice officer! I would NEVER kill for a reason as petty as mere survival! Miss Morose has been keeping me on lockdown for a long time now, so I had no idea she got her stupid butt caught up in a survival game. But learning of the little secret he was hiding underneath that frilly skirt…!” She squealed loudly, “It set me on fire! I couldn’t help myself, I just had to do it!”

“So what, it was just for the hell of it?! You just did it to get your sick fuckin’ rocks off?!” Mondo’s fists clenched in anger.

“But you said she kills using scissors. Could she really have done all that to Chihiro with any scissors?” Yasuhiro asked.

“Any scissors?” Genocide Jack spoke up, “I don’t just use ANY scissors! I only use my very own high-class, envy of the entire world scissors! As I said, I’m a professional, and I refuse to abandon my own traditions.”

“And am I to assume that you have your special scissors with you right now?” Celeste asked.

“Would you like to see for yourself…?”

Before anyone could answer, she quickly reached under her skirt and pulled out four scissors, two in each hand. But it wasn’t the scissors themselves that made everyone's hearts stop and their blood run cold. The scissors were completely coated in dried blood, from the blades all the way to the handles. Genocide Jack didn’t mind the blood at all as she slowly snipped the scissors, dried bits of blood falling to the floor like paper.

“It was a real shame. I had every intention of stringing him up with these babies. He would have made such a cute display! But, unfortunately, I was forced back into my world of slumber before I could get to the good part. Such is the unfortunate shame of bad timing.”

Kiyotaka’s face was pale as he stared at the bloodied scissors, “Y-You… You truly…”

“What, you want me to apologize for ripping into your tiny friend like a madwoman?! Not my fault! You should have kept him on a better leash!”

“You fucking bitch!” Mondo’s hands were gripping his podium desk, looking just about ready to break apart, “Fuck the execution, I’m killing you **my-fucking-self!”**

“You can try to kill me if you want, but I doubt you can! I’ve evaded the police, government, grieving families; like I’d go down to a simple wannabe bad boy!”

“Makoto, you have the full truth now. It’s time we bring this to an end,” Kyoko said.

“Yeah, Big Mac! Think you can take me down?! Then hit me with your best shot!”

“Gladly. If it means exposing your crime and bringing your actions to justice, I’ll gladly be the first to stop you!”

 

**“Let’s look back at this case from the beginning, to what started everything. Monokuma had presented his latest motive: the reveal of your most embarrassing secret. For Chihiro, this motive would come with a shocking reveal: the reveal that “she” was actually a “he”. Chihiro was dreading the thought of what might happen if everyone was to find out about this and decided he needed to act. He decided that rather than waiting for Monokuma to tell everyone, he would tell us himself. And in order to do that, he came up with a plan to get stronger. After the nighttime announcement, he went to go see Mondo, thinking he was the best person he could tell his secret to and ask to help him get stronger. Taka was with Mondo at the time, so he ended up telling both of them his secret and they both decided they would help him become stronger. However, that plan had to be put on hold when Mondo realized his e-Handbook was broken. He didn’t realize at the time that he accidentally broke it by taking it into the sauna. And because of this setback, they had decided to work out in the morning once Mondo got his handbook fixed. Chihiro, however, didn’t want this to stop him, so, once everyone was asleep, he grabbed the track jacket and duffel bag he took from the warehouse earlier that day and went to the locker room to workout. During that time, he used the punching bag and ended up injuring his hands. He left, likely intending to wrap his hands up before resting, but ended up encountering someone else; this person would end up being the one who killed him. Our killer saw the blood on Chihiro’s hands and fainted, but when they woke up, they weren’t their usual self. They were their other personality! One who quickly showed interest in killing Chihiro when learning he was a guy. They took out a pair of razor-sharp scissors and attacked him, starting with a cut on his arm. Chihiro likely realized the danger he was in and fled to hide to the boys locker room, knowing he would be safe there, something that would only work if our killer was a girl. Unfortunately, Chihiro wasn’t able to make it in time and our killer caught up to him and finished their job. Our killer left the scene, not caring for the evidence they left behind and they soon switched back to their normal personality, completely unaware of the crime they just committed. And that’s how it all went down. Isn’t that right, Genocide Jack and Toko Fukawa?!”**

 

“I overheard Toko saying she blacked out on the second floor and suddenly came to in her room. So it’s likely that’s where she changed back to normal after the murder.”

“Mmhmm, not half bad, Big Mac, not half bad at all. Look at you being a cute wittle weader!” Her voice was mockingly soft.

“Enough of this bullshit! We know who fucking did it! Monokuma, start the damn voting time right fuckin’ now!”

“Roger that! Time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Grab your lever and give it a yank! Who will you elect as the blackened this time around? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What’s it gonna be? What’s it gonna beeee?!”

The voting came and went in the blink of an eye, unsurprisingly, with a unanimous vote to Toko.

“Uh oh, looks like… you got it right again! The blackened who killed Chihiro Fujisaki was none other than… Genocide Jack, inhabiting the body of Toko Fukawaaaa!”

“So this is where my grand tale as the most feared of all killers comes to an end. Though it is as they say, even the greatest of villains shall meet their end before the story is over.”

“You monster!” Aoi screamed out, tears in her eyes, “You murdered Chihiro and you’re about to die, and you don’t even care! Don’t you feel bad for what you’ve done?!”

“Why would I feel bad?! If I felt bad about every soul whose flame I’ve extinguished, I never would have entered the killing business!”

“You truly have no heart,” Sakura growled, her voice deep.

“... Why?” Kiyotaka whispered, crying as well, “Why him? Why did you have to kill him?!”

“Allow me to explain,” Monokuma spoke up, “Due to our little nutjobs faulty memory, we won’t get the full picture from her. And since I have eyes all over, I can give you all the details. The final moments of our little Chihiro’s life.”

* * *

 

The training hadn’t gone as well as he had hoped. Though he couldn’t really be surprised by the outcome, he had decided to come without Mondo or Kiyotaka despite the plan. He wasn’t sure why he decided to work out by himself, especially with his own fears weighing down on him like a ball and chain. But a part of him knew that he had to grow stronger, and fast. The dread of what was awaiting him tomorrow was a constant reminder in the back of his mind, a reminder of what might happen. Mondo and Kiyotaka swore they would protect him should anyone try to belittle him for his life decisions, but he knew there was a possibility that they might not always be around. They were trapped in a game where the only means of escape is death. As much as he didn’t want to think about it, he knew it was still a probability that something could happen to them. Without them around, he knows he’ll be helpless and alone, once more retreating into the shell he spent so long hiding in. So he knew he had to be able to help himself, hence why he chose to work out alone in the dead of night.

Though now he found himself carefully having to hold his duffel bag without putting pressure on his injured hands. Having to change out of the track jacket and back into his normal clothes was already a grueling experience, one that made it clear he still had a long way to go before he was truly strong.

_‘I hope Mondo’s still awake. Maybe he can help bandage this up.’_

He left the pool area, wanting to bring this harsh night to an end, keeping his eyes on the floor as he walked. Because of this, he didn’t notice the person walking towards him until he bumped right into them. Looking up, he saw it was Toko.

“T-Toko!” His arms instantly wrapped around the duffel bag, holding it close to his chest, hoping that Toko hadn’t seen the tracksuit, “I-It’s nothing! I was just… um… g-going for a walk! Yeah, just a little walk! Um, what are you doing-”

He looked up and stopped once he saw her pale face and wide eyes. Following the path of her eyesight, he realized she was looking directly at his bloody hands.

“Oh, s-sorry! I forgot th-” Before he could finish, he saw her eyes roll back as she fell to the ground, “Toko!”

He dropped the duffel bag to the floor and dropped to his knees beside her. He grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake her awake, but saw no signs of consciousness.

“This is bad, really bad! … Ah! This isn’t in violation of the rules, right?” He quickly took out his e-Handbook and scrolled through the rules, stopping on the rule prohibiting sleeping anywhere other than the dorms. Reading over the rule carefully, he figured this was safe, “Thank goodness… But I can’t just leave her here,” He looked through the report card section, trying to find someone who could help, “Ah, Sakura! I’m sure she can help!”

He stood up, ready to run down the stairs and wake up the martial artist, but in an instant, Toko opened her eyes and stood up in a jerky motion. He subconsciously stepped back as the deep red eyes and long tongue greeted him.

“Morning! Were you the one who woke me from my slumber?”

“T-Toko?”

“Nonono, not Toko! You should know this already, or are you really that slow?! I am Genocide Jack!”

“Genocide Jack?!”

“Geez, are you slow on the update! Aren’t you supposed to be a genius or something?!” She leaned down to look him in the eyes, causing him to take another step back, “So tell me, what are you doing out here so late? Shouldn’t you be in bed like a good little girl?”

“Oh, well… u-um…”

“You’re not up to anything naughty, are ya?!”

“N-No! I would never-!”

She let out an insane laugh, “If you’re gonna do something shifty, at least invite me first!”

“I’m not doing anything bad!” He mustered the strength to yell before quieting down, “Please, can you let me go? I just wanna find Mondo.”

“Mondo? You wanna spend the night with your boyfriend?”

“H-He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Oh, don’t be so shy! You can tell Lil’ ole’ me the truth!”

“I am telling the truth! I’m not even a girl, so I wouldn’t have a-” Chihiro quickly covered his mouth with his hands, realizing what he just let slip out. He desperately hoped that Genocide Jack didn’t hear what he said.

Unfortunately, she heard him loud and clear, as her eyes widened and her face flushed, “You’re not a girl?!” He tried to deny this, but his voice failed to register. Genocide Jack grinned a wicked smile, “You’re… You’re a crossdresser?!” She squealed loudly and began twirling in place, hugging herself tightly, “That’s so unbelievably cute! And you do it so well, I couldn’t even tell! My body is burning up so much!” She stopped, facing away from him, and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes and smile held a malicious glint, “I’ve never had such an opportunity before. It’d be a shame if I put it to waste.”

She moved quicker than he could keep track of, moving in the blink of an eye. The first thing he registered was a stinging pain in his arm, one that was quick but painful, as the murderous fiend stood directly in front of him. Her left arm was outstretched to the side and in her hand was a pair of scissors that now had a drop of his blood. His hand grasped at his left arm, finding the tear on his sleeve and thin cut on his arm. He could feel his heart thudding in his ears, his entire form shaking in fear.

“You’re a resilient one! But because I’m in a good mood, I’ll give you a little chance of life. I’ll give you five seconds to run before I come after you. If I can’t get you, you live to see another day. If not, CHOP CHOP CHOP! Got it?”

Chihiro meekly nodded, his mind already desperately forming a plan.

“Alrighty then… Go!”

Chihiro instantly turned on his heel and ran as fast and hard as he could to the boys locker room. Monokuma made it clear that anyone that tried to enter the locker room that doesn’t match their gender would be shot down by the gun hanging from the ceiling. Strong as Genocide Jack was, she wouldn’t be able to withstand a shot from that. He would be able to hide safely until she realized she couldn’t reach him and give up, letting him survive. He would be able to rest, get his thoughts together, wake Mondo and Kiyotaka up and tell them everything. They had to know that Genocide Jack was in the school and was hiding among them. He quickly swiped his handbook on the card reader, hearing the confirmation noise gave him relief. He managed to do it, he escaped! His free hand grabbed the doorknob, ready to throw open the door, but then-

“GHH-!”

He froze, feeling an intense pain flow through his body. Blood splattered on his hand and handbook, his grip weakening as it fell to the floor. He looked down at the source of his pain, his eyes locking onto the blades of the scissors sticking out of his chest, dripping his blood onto the floor. He could already feel his consciousness beginning to slip, the strength to keep himself up waning, as the fiend behind him spoke in a low voice dripping with glee and evil.

“So close, but sorry, not quite good enough.”

* * *

 

“I was really on the edge of my seat the entire time! I really thought Chihiro would be able to escape, but, in the end, it was too late.”

Monokuma finished his story and the courtroom fell silent. Other than the culprit and robotic bear, the students held one of two expressions; fear induced panic or burning glares of fury directed at the killer.

“You… monster!” Makoto broke the silence, “How the hell could you do something like that to him?!”

“How many times are you all gonna ask the same question over and over and over again?! Just be satisfied with the first answer and move on already!”

**“YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD!!!”**

Mondo swung his first right at Genocide Jack, but she quickly dodged and managed to jump to the other side of the courtroom, his fist hitting the floor with a loud impact.

“If you’re gonna kill me, you can at least do a better job at it! I could have dodged that in my sleep!” She let out a crazed, mocking laugh.

“Sakura, Hina, help me grab this fuckin’ psycho!”

“Gladly,” Sakura growled, an intense aura burning the air around her.

“I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done!”

“Ohh, now this is starting to get fun! Well hey, if you’re all gonna enjoy yourselves, why can’t I?!” She reached back into her skirt, brandishing a new set of scissors.

“Geh! She’s fully equipped!” Hifumi stepped back, huddling in on himself.

“That’s right, so I can kill anywhere anytime! You said that I’m apparently gonna die now because of what I did, so why not take advantage of the time I have left to drag as many of you down with me as I can?! I was planning to do that anyway until Toko interrupted me!” She twirled the scissors with her fingers, “As for which one you I should start with… I’d have to say you intrigue me the most!” She pointed one hand holding scissors at Kiyotaka.

“Huh?!” He gasped out, his eyes unable to leave the razor-sharp tips pointing at him.

“They always say that those who paint themselves pure and just are the ones hiding the biggest skeletons in their closets. You might seem clean on the outside, but I wonder if I can show how tainted you are in your last breath!”

“Back the fuck off!” Mondo stepped in front of Kiyotaka, his stance wide and strong, “Like hell am I letting you get near him!”

“Acting like the giant meat shield you are, huh? Like that’ll help! I can cut through you like a piece of paper!”

Kiyotaka’s eyes widened in fear, “NO! Please don’t hurt him! I’ll let you attack me, just please don’t hurt him!”

“Bro, don’t!”

“Both of you are willing to die to protect the other?!” Genocide jack started laughing in high pitch, her hands grabbing the sides of her arms as she rocked back and forth, nearly salivating, “KYAH! What a truly titillating situation! Now I’m REALLY on fire!” She managed to calm down as she looked at the two boys, “Though, I shouldn’t be so surprised. You two have always been like this, so attached to each other no matter what.”

“W-What?” Kiyotaka asked.

“What the fuck do you m-”

“OK, I think that’s enough out of you!”

In a flash, Monokuma ran up to Genocide Jack, produced a stew pot full of pepper from nowhere and threw some in her face. The spice instantly affected her and with a large reel back, she let out a loud sneezed. Afterward, the Toko they knew was back, her eyes hazy as she adjusted to her surroundings.

“… W-What the…” Her eyes glanced around the room, taking note of the stares and glares pointed at her, “W-W-What happened?”

“The trial’s over. Genocide Jack killed Chihiro,” Byakuya stated bluntly and coldly, causing Toko to real back in terror.

“W-Wait! Hold on everyone!” Makoto spoke up, breaking the tense atmosphere, “You can’t be mad at Toko for this!”

“Huh? But why?” Yasuhiro asked, “She’s the one who killed Chihiro!”

“No, Genocide Jack was the one who killed Chihiro! Toko said so herself that they don’t share memories between each other. She had no way of knowing that Genocide Jack had done this!”

The tension in the room seemed to dim down, slowly evaporating, but Byakuya decided to bring it back, “No, she was fully aware that Genocide Jack was the culprit.”

“Huh?!”

“How can you declare such a thing?!” Hifumi yelled.

“It’s simple once you think about it. Even if their memories don’t share over, Toko still has some level of awareness of her other sides actions. After Genocide Jack committed the murder, she went back to your room with intentions to kill more until you switched back. Is that correct?” Toko looked down at the floor, her silence confirming his claims, “Thus, once you regained control, you likely noticed the bloodied scissors you had been carrying and jumped to the conclusion that she had killed someone. And when morning came to reveal Chihiro’s death, once you saw the cause of death listed in the Monokuma File, you instantly knew you had done it.”

Toko remained silent, not daring to look up at anyone. Another period of uneasy silence was broken as Kyoko spoke up, “He’s not wrong.”

“Kyoko?!” Makoto looked at her.

“With the cause of death listed as stabbing and the bloodied scissors she was holdings when she awoke, she had no trouble putting the two together. She could have hidden them in her room, but she knew that it could be a possibility that the rooms would be searched once it was made clear the murder weapon was absent at the scene. So she decided to keep them on her person to minimize any possibility of being discovered. Am I right, Toko?”

The writer stayed quiet, her gaze glued to the floor.

“T-Toko…?” Kiyotaka’s voice shook as he spoke, but Toko continued her silence.

“WILL YOU FUCKING SAY SOMETHING?!”

“W-W-What do you w-want me to s-say?!” Mondo’s furious rage finally broke her, “I-I-I tried e-everything to control it, a-and I was d-doing f-f-fine until he w-walked up to m-me!”

“No, don’t you fuckin’ DARE try to make this shit his fault! That fucking freak is a part of you and you kept your damn mouth shut! All this shit is your fuckin’ fault!”

“I-I-I tried…! I s-s-swear I tried to control it! B-But…-”

“But in the end, your efforts were useless,” Byakuya’s cut her off, “What a disappointment. Though I shouldn’t be too disappointed, I never expected you to keep your word.”

Toko gasped, “B-B-But you s-said if I k-kept my promise… you w-would g-go out with me… That’s the only reason I p-promised!”

“How many times do I have to tell you? I never said that. This is the real world, not some delusional fantasy fairytale. If this is what it takes to get you to finally face reality, so be it.”

His words cut through her like a blade as she backed up, her eyes widened, “Ngh… I hate you…”

“Well, I believe you’ve wasted more than enough our time. You murdered Chihiro, couldn’t conceal your crime, and now, you have to face the consequences for your actions. That’s how this game works, right Monokuma?”

“You got that right!” The bear spoke up, voice shining with glee, “It’s about time! We’ve finally gotten to the best part! The time for punishment is finally here!”

“W-W-W-Wait! W-Wait a m-minute!” She backed as far away as she could from the bear, her eyes darting all over, looking for some form of escape, “S-S-She’s the o-one who d-d-did it! C-C-Can’t you just k-kill her?”

“I know I’m the greatest creation to grace this planet, but I’m not some all-powerful god! I can’t just erase one personality and not the other! If I could do that, I’d be giving an unfair advantage to some of my students. In this world, you only get one life. And I’m afraid your inner demon just wasted yours. Now you have to suffer for her actions!”

“Hah… n-n-nooo…”

“Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Toko Fukawa, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy!”

“Noooo…!”

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got! It’s… PUNISHMENT TIIIME!”

Toko’s ear piercing scream echoed throughout the entire room, lingering even after a chain wrapped around her neck and pulled her away into the depths of the school. Monokuma let out a chilling laugh as he brought his gavel down on the button.

* * *

 

 

**_Game Over_ **

**_Toko has been found guilty._ **

**_Time for the punishment!_ **

 

Toko found herself completely surrounded by darkness. Everywhere she looked was nothing more than an endless pool of black, her eyes unable to adjust to her environment. There was nothing but silence and darkness. Was this Monokuma’s plan? To have her slowly go insane from being trapped in a world where nothing existed?

A sound caught her attention and she turned to look in its direction. A light had turned on in the distance, illuminating a small circle with a pale light. In that circle of light, she could scarcely make out the silhouette of a figure. She squinted, trying to identify the figure. She quickly noted the tall, slim form and familiar hairstyle.

Byakuya.

Her emotional heart overridden her logical side screaming at her to stop and she took off running towards him, wanting to see him just one more time, even if just for a second. She rapidly closed in on him, growing closer to the light and watching as his form slowly took a more clear shape. Just a little more and-

Another sound stopped her in her tracks, this time coming from above her. She looked up and, even within the barely visible light coming from the spotlight, she could tell whatever was dropping was incredibly large. She just barely managed to jump back and avoid the large steamroller that landed in front of her. She had no time to adjust and figure out what was happening when she heard the engine roar to life and started moving towards her.

**The “First Kiss” Prank**

She immediately began running faster than she ever had in her life, hoping and praying she would be able to escape somehow. She ran and ran through the endless sea of black that laid before her, yet it seemed no matter where she went, the steamroller was always right behind her, slowly closing in on her. Her heart was racing and her breathing was erratic as panicked exhaustion started to consume her body. She would have given up and accepted defeat if not for her will to survive forcing her to continue. Her legs were burning and growing numb from pain, begging for some form of respite, but she continued to run.

At some point, she once more saw the silhouette of Byakuya in the distance. Her mind latched onto this faint glimmer of hope. If Byakuya was able to enter this room and avoid being detected by the steamroller, he had to know some means of escaping this place. She once more ran to him, the lingering dread of death weighing down on her back as she could almost feel the heat generated from the steamroller. However, whether it’d be from some unseen force or the throbbing pain in her legs, she tripped and hit the ground with a hard thud. The force of the fall and the exhaustion that swam throughout her entire body made her unable to stand back up and she screamed as she felt the heavy steel reinforced roller run over her ankles, crushing the bone and flesh flat. She thought it would be over, painful but at the least quick, due to the pace she was forced to flee at. But once the initial pain in her ankles passed, she realized the truth of what was happening.

The steam roller stopped its frenzy chase after her and was now slowly climbing up her body inch by inch, carefully and meticulously grinding every fragment of bone into dust. Her screaming was horrific, growing louder and louder as her legs were slowly crushed, screaming regardless of the tearing and strain it was putting on her throat. It only became worse as the roller reached her torso, the pressure now being pushed onto her organs, her screaming being repeatedly cut off as she choked on her own blood. One arm reached out to Byakuya, the other having been caught in the press, the last strand of hope for some form of salvation as she felt her ability to breathe suddenly caught off. The roller moved past her ruined stomach, up her crushed chest, up her strained neck until-

A splash of blood painted the floor as the arm fell lifelessly to the floor as it was crushed, the last remnants of her being pulverized, leaving a bleeding fleshy mess on the ground. The silhouette came into light, revealing Monokuma holding up a wooden dummy shaped to look like Byakuya, as he let out his trademark chilling laugh.

* * *

 

 

The execution was a grueling task to watch. Makoto knew that things were not going to get easier after seeing what happened to Leon, but what they had to witness was something else entirely. It took every bit of strength he had to prevent himself from heaving whatever was in his empty stomach onto the floor. He quickly saw he wasn’t alone. The other students all looked pale and sickly, Kiyotaka looking particularly bad as he couldn’t bring himself to watch the entire ordeal, burying his face into Mondo’s back with a hand over his mouth. Even Byakuya, Celeste, and Kyoko seemed to have been affected, though not showcasing it as overtly.

Monokuma laughed, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting her to be such a fighter! I thought she’d be done for much earlier! I guess, even in death, she was hoping to be saved!”

“How… How could you do that to her?!” Aoi cried out, tears in her eyes.

“Huh?” Monokuma tilted his head, “Are you feeling bad for her now? I thought you all despised her for slaughtering your precious Chihiro.”

“Yeah, but… to torture her like that and tease her so cruelly…! Even she didn’t deserve that!” Makoto shouted.

He sighed, “I swear, I just don’t understand youth these days. One minute you want her to pay for her actions, the next you feel sorry for her, then you want her to suffer again, then you want to save her, yadda yadda yadda. If you can’t decide whether to be black or white, you’ll be running around like headless chickens! It’ll just make this game more boring.”

“Shut up, you little fucker.”

“So that’s the reason you gave her that hope,” Kyoko spoke up, “You wanted to give her the hope that she could be saved just so you could see her despair up close. To watch the moment where she lost that hope.”

“I’m not in any position to confirm or deny that,” He snickered.

_‘Goddamn it… I just want this to be over already. If I have to watch any more of this, I might just…’_

“Puhuhu. Well, I’d say you all did a fine job today. You all live to see another day! But how long will that peace last? We’ll just have to wait and see!” With one last laugh, Monokuma left the courtroom.

The room felt heavy with an uneasy atmosphere, the lingering feeling of sickness hung in the air. Mondo was helping to calm Kiyotaka down, Sakura offering the same support to Aoi, Yasuhiro and Hifumi panicking as Celeste watched them with a quizzical look. Makoto saw Byakuya straighten himself up before turning and walking over to the elevator, and he quickly followed after him, catching up to him at the elevator doors.

“Hey Byakuya, wait a minute!” The scion said nothing and looked down at him, his glare telling him to speak already. Makoto locked up for a moment before finding the strength to speak, “Um, I just wanted to say thank you. Without your testimony and the information you learned, we wouldn’t have been able to prove Toko’s guilt. So… thanks.”

“Don’t go getting starry-eyed on me, I’ve already had to put up with that long enough,” Makoto felt any comfort he had had been instantly erased, “Besides, I only intervened for the sake of my own life. You all had run into a brick wall with no means of climbing it, and I had no intentions of being trapped because of you all. Although…” He adjusted his glasses before continuing, “You lasted much longer than I expected you to, Makoto. You thrashed about sloppily, of course, but still managed to stay afloat. Quite interesting, I’ll admit. Perhaps you might actually be someone worth keeping my eye on should the time come,” With that last statement, he boarded the elevator and left.

Makoto breathed a heavy sigh, the weight of everything that happened today collapsing in on his entire body; the loss of Chihiro, the grueling investigation, the drawn-out trial, the reveal of Genocide Jack, the execution that left a nauseating feeling in his stomach, Byakuya’s typical attitude. He wanted nothing more than to just collapse onto his bed and have this day be over already.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned and looked to Kyoko as she said, “Let’s go. We might have some time to eat something before the dining hall closes.”

“Are you sure it’s alright for us to eat? I mean, especially after that…”

“We’ll only be worse off if we don’t. Most people here haven’t even eaten breakfast. We’ll be needing our strength for tomorrow, right?”

He picked up what she was talking about, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

He followed her as he and the rest of the students boarded the elevator, bringing an end to the trial, an end to their day, and the end to the lives of two of their classmates.

However, a certain silver-haired girl still found her mind lingering on several topics.

_‘So in the end, Genocide Jack had no connection to Monokuma or our current predicament. That eliminates her from the list of suspects. Perhaps I’ll find more clues when the third floor opens tomorrow. But, there’s one more thing. Monokuma specifically said, “I’ll be giving some of my students an unfair advantage”. If he was referring to just Toko, he never would have said that statement in a plural format. And that look he gave after Monokuma said that… Could you be hiding something from us as well? … It looks like I’ll have to keep my eye on you.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, the trial and chapter have come to a close. I gotta say, rewriting the entirety of the second case was quite the fun, albeit it grueling, experience, and it's probably the most I'll have to change up for this rewrite. The remainder of the cases won't require the same amount of meticulous work, so I'll hopefully be able to get them out at a consistent pace. The next chapter is already about halfway done, so that should be coming out soon. But, just a heads up, the net chapters not gonna be just a normal chapter. I'll explain it when it gets posted.  
> And, as promised, I'd like to give a shoutout to the commenter "Mimi" for correctly deducing the culprit and most of the events regarding the murder. I wasn't expecting anyone to get the whole thing 100%, but they did pretty well. And hey, Danganronpa is known for throwing twists even in the most obvious cases.  
> And, in true Danganronpa fashion, I've even set up some mysteries to be solved; Genocide Jack's final statement, Monokuma's words, Kyoko's last lingering question. What could all this be leading to? You'll have to wait and see.  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> Man, if the investigation had to be altered this much, the trial is going to be even more insane for me to write out. But I know you all are likely as excited as I am. That's why I'm proposing a little game for you all.  
> Since I had to rewrite pretty much everything regarding Chihiro's murder, I wanna test how well my reader's detective skills are. I'll be posting all the evidence on my Tumblr I'll be linking it below a few minutes after this goes up. So feel free to look over all the evidence and comment on who you think killed Chihiro and the events surrounding the murder. The first person to correctly deduce it will get a shout out next chapter.  
> Update: the evidence has been posted on my Tumblr. Click the link to look through it and fin the answer to the crime!  
> https://your-lady-star.tumblr.com/post/184697482958/rdbbh-trial-2-evidence


End file.
